


Care

by kittybenzedrine



Series: Timelines [55]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Caretaking, Disabled Character, F/M, Fluff, Love, Mild Language, Romance, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:34:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23474050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kittybenzedrine/pseuds/kittybenzedrine
Summary: "I think you look lovely, darling."Kneeling next to the chair, Leo gently drags the tiny brush across Renee's pinky nail. It spreads the dark green lacquer across the center of her nail, and he works quickly to evenly spread it across the rest of the nail. He shoots a quick glance up, but her eyes remain unblinking, trained at the wall across from her."I know you prefer red but," he dips the brush into the bottle, getting more of the nail polish onto it, "I think the green is just as nice."___A drabble on loving someone even if they're not quite the person you originally fell for._____All pieces of the Timelines series are standalones and can be read without context.
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Male Character
Series: Timelines [55]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/728796
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	Care

"I think you look lovely, darling."

Kneeling next to the chair, Leo gently drags the tiny brush across Renee's pinky nail. It spreads the dark green lacquer across the center of her nail, and he works quickly to evenly spread it across the rest of the nail. He shoots a quick glance up, but her eyes remain unblinking, trained at the wall across from her.

"I know you prefer red but," he dips the brush into the bottle, getting more of the nail polish onto it, "I think the green is just as nice."

With the same careful precision, he starts on her ring finger. Her nails are getting fairly long he notes, spreading polish from cuticle to tip. He needs to trim them soon. He's forgotten for a week straight now. First thing tomorrow, he promises himself, he'll trim them first thing tomorrow after they eat. They're fine for now otherwise. 

"You haven't worn the green one in quite a while, and I wanted you to match. I like how the green dress fits on you."

Slowly, methodically, he finishes all the nails on her left hand. Leo makes sure to take his time and make them look good. It's very rare that he sits down and takes the time to properly paint her nails, and she's going to be wearing it for a while. He should make sure they're perfect.

Capping the lacquer, he takes a moment to examine all of Renee's nails. There are a few stray splotches of green on her skin, but it's easily fixed with a q-tip and a little bit of acetone. Her right hand is finally dry, at least. This shit takes an eternity to harden. Leo wishes he had known as much when he first started; he would have used the quick-dry white polish instead. But the green look infinitely better than the white would have, he won't deny that.

Curling his fingers under hers, he pulls her hand just a few inches from his face. The sharp bite of the nail polish burns his eyes but he keeps her hand close, drawing in a breath as he observes the glossy, wet surfaces. Bringing her hand just a touch closer, he gently blows onto her nails.

Glancing up, he finds that Renee has turned to look at him. While the dress is much darker, he likes how much the clothing brings out the color of her eyes. He's always liked her eyes. Such a vibrant, earthy green. Bright and shiny like freshly polished jade. She told him once that her eyes were her favorite shade of green. He can see why.

Careful not to touch the wet lacquer, Leo adjusts his grip so he can stroke his thumb across her fingers. He catches on her wedding ring on the down stroke, and when his thumb reaches the joints just above her nails, he pulls her hand to his lips for a small kiss.

"You look lovely, darling. Truly."

Letting go of her hand, Leo rises to his feet with a grunt. His knees are stiff from being in that position for so long without moving.

He curves his fingers under her chin, tilting her head up and examines her face. Hm. He's getting better at doing makeup, he thinks. Her eyeliner is even and her eye shadow doesn't look like it was put on by a blind child. He even managed to color match it to her peachy lipstick. Renee blinks lazily, her eyes unfocused. Her curls shift of their own volition, framing her jaw.

"Alright. I'm going to finish getting dressed, then I'll find you a pair of shoes."

It takes less than ten minutes for him to get the rest his clothes on. Most of that time is spent brushing and wrangling his mane into a presentable bun. In the closet, he slides his shoes out and contemplates over her large collection before leaning out.

"Do you think you can manage the heels tonight?" he asks, casting a look in her direction.

Renee remains silent. Her hands rest where he left them on the arms of the chair, eyes facing straight ahead. Leo hums in the back of his throat.

"Mm. You'll be on your feet all night. The flats are a better idea."

Leo knows she hates how the no-show socks feel, but he puts a pair on her anyway. This particular pair of shoes always give her a blister, but they go with half of her nice outfits and it doesn't make sense to throw them out. 

Once more, she slowly readjusts to watch his moves. Her curls fall down around her face. Leo climbs to his feet once more when her shoes are on, and her head follows the motion at half speed. With her head facing forward once more, her hair has parted enough to expose the mess of scarring on her forehead. In one fluid motion, he strokes her hair back into place to hide it. It's not that he's ashamed of her scarring. It's more along the lines of knowing she hates being looked at, and having it on display will warrant unwanted stares all night long.

He's frequently asked why he's still with her. After the accident, she's... admittedly not the same. Renee hasn't uttered a word since. All of her motions are slow and subdued, and it takes her an eternity to do what should be simple tasks. She's incapable of doing most things on her own.

While she can do basic things like dress and feed herself, it takes ages for her to do so. Most everything else is left up to him. He has to bathe her to ensure she doesn't burn or freeze herself. He still feeds and dresses her to save time. He takes care of every household chore on his own, including taking care of her. He reads to her, takes her out on walks to keep her from being bored. Fuck, he sold off every one of his businesses to become her full-time caretaker.

What do they expect him to do? Divorce her and leave her with her brother, who has seven children to raise and an entire farm to run? Leave her in a facility where she'll be neglected at best and abused at worst, only visit her on the weekends like some troubled child?

No. It's a miracle she ever woke up. It's a miracle that she's as aware as she is, that she isn't a vegetable with no brain activity. She's in there, even if it takes her a little while to show it.

Still. They still ask why he's with her, and very few seem to understand when he pulls of his wedding ring and holds it up to them. He understands, and that's enough.

"There," he says softly, brushing his fingers along her cheek. "Are you ready to go?"

He takes both of her hands in his own and pulls her from her seat as gently as he can. Renee is unsteady on her feet, but he remains in place until she's stable. _Fuck_. Raking his gaze over her, he feels a squeeze in his chest. She's gorgeous. Absolutely fucking _stunning_.

Though he knows she shouldn't at the risk of messing up her lipstick, he leans in for a kiss. He waits for a moment, and he's rewarded with a weak push of her lips against his own. Leo rests his forehead against her own.

"You'll be a showstopper, just as you always are," he murmurs softly, tilting his head to angle in for another.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm an essential employee and I hate my life rn but like. These two bring me comfort. I hope they can bring you guys some sense of comfort in this time too.
> 
> As always, I love hearing from you guys. Feel free to comment or hit me with that sweet, sweet Kudos button.
> 
> I have [my blog](http://iwillpooponthefloor.tumblr.com) on tumblr, if you'd like to check that out, though it's mostly unrelated content. I'm not active much on there, but I'll try to get back to you if you'd rather contact me there.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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